Mason Cummings Photography

Denver, Colorado

About

Over the years, a profound passion for the outdoors has naturally led to my passion for photography. The more I found myself in the wilderness, the deeper my desire grew to share these spectacular places with other people. Currently working for The Wilderness Society in Denver, I'm extremely fortunate to have found an application for my work. My ultimate goal has always been to inspire people to not only connect with, but protect wild places.

As a landscape photographer, I can't help but be drawn to wild places. They're much more than places to take pretty pictures. I see them as places to find balance in my life, places to reconnect, and places to be mystified by the intricate beauty of this planet. The thought of helping others emotionally connect with even just a fraction of that beauty is what motivates me to be a photographer.

More importantly, as the Earth's climate continues to change it is becoming even more critical that these places are protected. Wilderness is essential to maintaining healthy ecosystems, and these areas are living laboratories and classrooms as we continue trying to understand the effects of a warming planet. They are also some of the last remaining natural assemblages of biodiversity, and provide critical habitat to many of our threatened and endangered species. We need as much wilderness as possible in order for species to adapt to a rapidly shifting climate.

I've always subscribed to the notion that an image is only half-complete upon initial capture. With a few tweaks, you can often turn an ordinary picture into an extraordinary photograph. Most of my images are meticulously processed in the effort to convey the actual experience of a scene as close as possible to how I remember it. I use a combination of filters and in-field techniques as well as post-processing in order to convey my interpretation of a particular scene. I'm constantly learning and working to refine my craft, and my process is something that changes almost every day.